<p>I'd like to major in something that can allow me to invest successfully on Wall Street, maybe even be my own boss and play the stock market to make a living.</p>
<p>What would be the best business major for this? I've been leaning towards Finance and Economics, because those seem to make the most sense. What is the difference between these two, and which better prepares me for an investment career?</p>
<p>Finance or Econ, plus a top notch school</p>
<p>“play the stock market to make a living” - This could mean anything from working as an analyst at Citadel to running a bogus trading arcade. I think you should start by learning more about the different careers in investment management (HFT, HF, AM, Prop Trading, etc). Once you have an idea of which careers interest you, it’ll be much easier to settle on a choice of major.</p>
<p>I’d probably be interested in managing or creating hedge funds.</p>
<p>Then you best be going to a top 5 biz / top 10 general undergrad program. HF industry is one of the most exclusive clubs around.</p>
<p>^ In addition, only a handful of HFs recruit undergrads for FT positions. If HF is your goal, you should do IB or a non-HF IM role after undergrad. After a few years, you can switch to a hedge fund or get an MBA.</p>
<p>If you want to “play the stock market for a living” then start trading right now (even with fake money on a simulator).</p>
<p>No college class is going to prepare you for actually profiting as an individual trader. NONE.</p>
<p>What are these top 5 undergrads you speak of? Ivies?</p>
<p>Ivy’s, MIT, NYU, Duke, UVA, Stanford etc</p>
<p>There is no major, not even Finance. People that work in “investing” are not good at investing. If they were, they wouldn’t be working. Finance is a career with a lot of hours.</p>
<p>Being the boss, you are thinking of something completely different and in entrepreneurship.</p>
<p>Major in Economics since it is general enough to fit your unclear goals.</p>
<p>Amazing- Did you major in Econ because you were unsure of your goals and wanted something broader?</p>
<p>You are going to want to try and figure out what area of finance you want to work in. Banking is going to be suited to econ, finance or accounting. Trading will depend on the product you trade. If you are doing plain vanilla equities or maybe some fixed income then finance/accounting is fine. Structured products, options, etc will be better suited for people with STEM type degrees.</p>
<p>The best thing you can do is going to a top school. This included Ivy League universities, MIT, Stanford, NYU, UVA, Duke, Michigan, etc. Many other schools have a lot of alumni on the street that can help you. You also have to factor in which type of bank you want to work for. A lot of schools have a regional presence and can help you place in smaller or more local banks. Think BBT or Sun Trust down south. </p>
<p>Read up on the industry before you make any decisions. The allure high pay tends to get people interested, but when they realize the realities of working in finance they lose interest.</p>
<p>Are stock brokers or day traders under “Investment Banking”?</p>
<p>Nick0726-No, that is Sales and Trading…similar but no not IB. </p>
<p>OP,
Best major is finance, with econ and accounting being right up there. It’s really a toss up, what really matters is going to a top notch school, networking hard and prepping for interviews. Check out wallstreetoasis.com</p>
<p>you need to go to a top 10 school for accounting or finance and network A LOT.</p>
<p>@ultimablade What do you mean by “network”? Thanks!</p>
<p>@Royboo basically make contacts with people in the industry and become friends and then ask them if they know if anyone is hiring.</p>
<p>Get a couple books on networking if you really don’t know what it means. To try to just sum it up in a sentence is hard to do in any way that helps you.</p>
<p>I’d recommend a lot of self-researching and learning, don’t rely on your school to get you to where you need to be. You must stand out from your peers</p>
<p>It would be best for you to specifically find an area in banking/finance that interests you because Mathematics, Economics, Business, and Finance degrees are all relevant to different areas on Wall Street. Take your idea and turn it into something bigger with direction so you can know where to head. But getting into a top-level school is equally important.</p>